The Final Disaster
by Peter J. Sumner
Karachi is a disaster just waiting to happen. The city shouldn't be here at all and it can only be considered a miracle that Karachi has lasted so long. Here we are, sitting in a desert, with no natural water supply to speak of, waiting for the inevitable end. We all know that Karachi can be devastated by a cyclone or an earthquake at any time. We are not even prepared for such an emergency. Why should we be? Afterall, if such a major calamity was to hit Karachi, we are all going to die - from lack of water!
Governments and aid agencies would no doubt send their routine shipments of tents, blankets, rice and milk powder but what use would that be? Sixteen million people need an absolute minimum of sixty-four thousand tonnes of drinking water every day. Not a government or any agency in the world is capable of supplying even a tiny percentage of that that figure. Where would this aid be delivered? All our airports, both civil and military, are located inside the city! Presumably, they would all be destroyed too in a major disaster. Plus, we are all aware of the nature of Pakistanis - your first requirement in such a situation would be a gun! So, we just resign ourselves to our fate as there is nothing we can do.
So, these natural disasters don't really concern us. What is more worrying is the possibility of a man-made disaster, bringing the certainty of our end a little too close for comfort. It is just around the corner. It could happen next year or even next month! The only sure thing is that it will happen!
For years, the medical profession has been literally forcing anti-biotics into us. Today, even the youngest babies are dosed with third generation, high potency anti-biotics as a matter of routine. The result is that we are all immune to such drugs. Not only that, the mosquitoes are also immune - because we have made them so!
The amazing stupidity of our governments have also contributed to the health risk. Still they don't believe that it rains in Karachi! The roadside drainage systems do not even exist along the majority of our roads, and the sewerage system is quite inadequate. Every time it rains, the sewers flood the streets. Then the sun comes out, eventually evaporating the water but leaving behind the germ laden solid matter. The wind then blows this dust straight into our lungs!
We are constantly being attacked by both air-borne and mosquito transmitted viruses. The results are becoming clearer with each passing day. This year has seen a large number of cases where all blood and urine laboratory tests show 'perfect' results, yet the patient is obviously very ill. The doctors have no idea what they are supposedly treating, only that it is a viral infection.
The disaster, just around the corner, is going to happen when one of these particularly nasty viral infections breaks out in an epidemic form, and no drug on Earth will suppress it.
This is a man-made problem that could have been avoided. Doctors should never have been allowed to prescribe anti-biotics as routine procedure because there are alternatives available which are just as effective, and often more so, without the buildup of immunity. Even where anti-biotics were necessary, the first generation samples, and there are many types, should have been used first. The more potent anti-biotics, as commonly used today, should have been kept in reserve for just such an emergency that is about to happen.
We, the patients, are also to blame in a sense. We habitually take common drugs such as paracetamol for each little ailment. Paracetamol is a very important drug in viral infection treatment since it can effectively lower the temperature rapidly in the case of high fever. Unfortunately, so many of us have taken so much of this drug over time that it is no longer as effective.
If the doctors don't know what they are treating, and the prescribed drugs don't work, what can the poor patient do?
Well here we must make the usual disclaimer. I am NOT a doctor and you should be advised against taking any medicine without proper medical supervision. Any advice offered here is taken by you at your own personal risk, and this site, or anyone involved with it, is not to be held responsible in any way whatsoever for any event or result that may occur from your own actions.
OK, there is an alternative to anti-biotics commonly available. There is a group of drugs known (somewhat incorrectly) as "sulfonamides" which are primarily for treating bacterial infections but do seem to have some effect on many viral infections too. Most doctors are only vaguely familiar with these drugs and often consider them old-fashioned and ineffective, presumably what they were taught in medical college! This isn't the case. You should be warned that a fairly large number of people are sensitive to this type of drug and adverse effects can occur. The most commonly available form in Karachi is known as "Bactrim", although there are other brandnames available from other pharmaceutical companies. Adults would want the double strength packaging of "Bactrim Forte".
Dosage is two tablets per day for at least five days, one in the morning, one at night. Ensure that you start with a small test dose of quarter or half tablet first to make certain that you are not sensitive to this drug. Any adverse reaction is a bad sign and you should not take this drug!
It isn't a miracle drug so don't expect immediate results. Neither does it treat the symptoms such as cough, headache, sweating, etc. It fights the infection only. As with any drug, you shouldn't take it too frequently.
This, and a few other drugs, may buy us a little time but the disaster is still coming!